the christmas new year's hole day. a 1.4% increase over last year. and there is good news on the weather front that storm in colorado should break up later today. and appears a different system could hit the northeast over the holiday weekend. if you are looking for a white christmas the plains, rockies and southwest are -- we are learning about an

incredible rescue of a family buried in a ten-foot snow drift for two days. they got stuck on a highway on monday. the snow kept piling up and before they knew it, their suv was buried. authorities went out looking after getting a stress call. they are hospitalized this morning but doing just fine. now to the fight in washington over extending the payroll tax cut beyond the first of the year. president obama plans a white house news conference later today to discuss the standoff with house republicans. but as chief white house correspondent norah o'donnell reports, mr. obama is sticking to his guns. >> the is ball is in the house's court. there is a compromise available. an avenue out of this blind alley, if you will, that they have driven themselves into, and it is the senate bill. >> reporter: the white house believe they have the upper hand now and felt emboldened when the conservative editorial page of

"wall street journal" wondered if republicans might end up reelecting the president before the 2012 campaign even begins. having permitted mr. obama to position himself as the election year tax cutter. >> merry christmas to you. >> reporter: the president was in such a good mood, he went christmas shopping with his dog bo in toe, bought gifts for his daughters with. with the clock ticking company if the tax cut is not extended the average family would have $40 less to spend or save for each payroll. the white house asks what does $40 mean to you? more than 20,000 responses were received via e-mail or on twitter. $40 is the gas i need to get to work each week. it's also two weeks' lunch money for my kids read one. $40 is a loan bill for my

student loan. not having $40 is unacceptable in my home. make no mistake, this is a stalemate. i am told there are no talks going on, no negotiations going on. the senior white house official saying the president is willing to stay in town even if congress has gone home to try to keep the pressure on. norah o'donnell, cbs news, the white house. in the race for the republican presidential nomination, newt gingrich is trying to put some pressure on mitt romney, but he is hampered by a late start to his campaign playing catch-up in virginia, while his rival focus on iowa and new hampshire. tara mergener is in washington with more this morning. >> reporter: newt gingrich admits his campaign is pretty far behind but he says that does not mean romney is a more viable candidate. newt gingrich is scrambling to meet virginia's filing deadline. >> with your help, we are going to get in the ballot. >> reporter: he fired up voters at a last-minerally wednesday night and will continue campaigning in the state today.

the former house speaker must turn in 10,000 voters signatures to qualify for virginia's primary. he says he'll have more than enough. instead, he is staying focused on his biggest rival. >> i've challenged governor romney to meet me for 90 minutes in iowa next week, anywhere, any time, timekeeper, no moderator. >> reporter: gingrich dared romney to a one-on-one debate after he slammed into new hampshire for complaining about negative ads. >> if you can't stand the relatively modest heat in the kitchen right now, wait until obama's kitchen shows up. >> reporter: romney has already turned in 16,000 signatures to get on the virginia ballot in march, but he and fellow contenders are hoping to knock out gingrich well before then. >> this election is rather important. as a matter of fact, this election in iowa is significant. >> reporter: ron paul is emerging as a wild card who could take the iowa caucuses

less than two weeks. . the latest poll shows him leading the gop pact but with gingrich and romney close behind, it's still anybody's race. virginia is among the super tuesday primaries. failure to compete would be a big blow to any contender who hasn't locked up the nomination by then. drew? >> tara mergener in washington, thank you, this morning. the faa has issued new rules aimed at keeping fatigued airline pilots out of the air prompted by a deadly 2009 crash near buffalo, new york. the rule require pilots to get more sleep and less flight time, especially at night. the airlines had fought the new rules as too costly but the pilots union for u.p.s. says they don't go far enough because cargo carriers are not covered by the new rules. in iraq this morning, terrorists went on the attack just days after the last u.s. troops left the country. a dozen bombs exploded in a coordinated attack in baghdad. iraq's health minute city says upwards of 60 people killed and

180 wounded. it's unclear who launched the attacks but attention between the iraqi shiites and sunnis are up sharply since the americans left. eight u.s. soldiers stand charged with the related hazing death of a fellow soldier in afghanistan. the victim's family said he had been bullied and taunted and abused because of his race. here is bob orr. >> reporter: the body of danny chen was found october 3rd in a guard tower in kandahar, another casualty of the war in afghanistan. the army says the 19-year-old soldier died of what appeared to be a self-inflected gunshot, but military prosecutors accused eight of chen's fellow soldiers of contributing to his death. chen's platoon leaders are charged with eight counts of dereliction of duty and charges among the other seven soldiers range from making false statements and negligent homicide and involuntary i

didn't manslaughter. he was mocked, called jackie chen, and he reportedly had rocks thrown at him while being dragged across the barrack's floor. the charges came after chen's classmates and friends and family launched an online request for justice. >> my son wanted to be a -- >> reporter: this youtube video entitled what happened to private danny chen pushed the military for answers. >> what happened to danny? >> reporter: beyond the charges the army provided no details as to what led to chen's death and pentagon spokesman captain jon kirby. >> any case of hazing or inappropriate conduct to a fellow soldier, airman, marine, sailor, coast guardsman is inappropriate. >> reporter: but chen's family want to know exactly what happened right before he died. they will get their chance to ask military investigators in a face-to-face meeting on january 4th. bob orr, cbs news, washington.

walmart pulls a suspect baby formula off its shelves. we will tell you why. plus shock on a railway platform as a woman falls from the train to the tracks below. this is the "cbs morning news." i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor.

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look out! a woman staggers off the train and rolls between the gap between the car and the platform. british police release this video to illustrate the dangers. drinking too much. it happened earlier this year but amazingly the woman was not injured. walmart has stopped selling a brand of formula after a child died allegedly linked to the powder. the lot number is z perks 1 j 7 g. for now, the government has not issued a recall.

on the ckrbcbs "moneywatch, stocks slipped in asia's trady. ashley moyerson is here in new york with that and more. >> reporter: huge loan to hold down the debt crisis. tokyo's nikkei fell almost 1% while hong kong's hang sang edged down. on wednesday, the tech sector dragged stocks lower. the dow managed a four-point gain but the nasdaq was off almost 26. bank of america is paying a record fine to settle race discrimination claims against its countrywide unit. they will pay $335 million to resolve justice department claims that countrywide impaeged in a widespread pattern against black and hispanic borrowers. the money will be used to compensate victims from 2004 through 2007. how much does a chevy volt cost? it depends on who you ask.

according to a new report, every car sold so far has cost toi taxpayers $250,000. the car officially retails for a little over 40 grand. volt sales are expected to miss chevy's 2011 sales targets by at least 4,000 vehicles. verizon's four-speed network is having problems. service went out for the second time this month affecting customers from coast-to-coast. verizon didn't say what caused the issue but says all service should already be restored. you could soon get a beer with your slider. the white castle fast food chain is considering selling alcohol with its bite-sized burger. other fast food restaurants are also trying out alcohol sales. burger king opened the whopper bar south beach in miami this year, and starbucks is testing

beer and wine at a few sites. nothing says fine dining like a beer and a slider! >> as i like to say, tasty! >> they are going somewhere fancy. >> ashley morrison here in new york, thank you so much. straight ahead, your thursday morning weather. and in sports, the heat's lebron james crashes to the floor as tempers flare in orlando. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama...

once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country.

time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clouds heading through the rockies, while another system is on the move from texas to the mid-atlantic state. later today, parts of the southwest will get another round of snow in the southeast will be rainy with a chance of strong thunderstorms. now to sports. a dramatic end to the annual poinsettia bowl game. connected on a 42-yard touchdown pass. tcu held on to beat louisiana tech 31-24. in college basketball, a win for fifth ranked north carolina. at home in chapel hill against texas, the tar heels got a season high 26 points from harrison barnes. john henson added 14 points as carolina cruised to an 82-63

victory. in the nba, things got a little overheated between the heat and the magic in orlando. miami's lebron james was shoved to the floor and he fell and nothing was called on magic's quinton richardson. later, james bumped him and caused a technical foul. in another nba preseason game, the los angeles lakers kobe bryant did not play because of a torn ligament in his right wrist and the clippers blake griffin scored 30 points leading the way to a victory in a cross-town riflely 108-103. a in nerin the netherlands, goalie. the goalie was thrown out so his team left the field. the game might have to be replayed. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and a memorable welcome home

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on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. damaging thunderstorms are likely today in the east as a storm system moves rapidly out of the southern plains. showers will spread from louisiana to pennsylvania and then into new england late in the evening. here is another look at this morning's top stories. winter opens with a blast in the rockies. up to a foot of snow in denver as the storm reaches from wyoming to new mexico. it's a real mess for air and highway travelers. and just days after american forces left, a major terror attack in baghdad. scores are dead and upwards 200 are wounded in a coordinated series of bombings related to iraq's ability to handle its own security. it's one of those romantic

moments americans have come to cherish opini cheri cherish, the welcome home kiss. it got a modern twist yesterday as a navy ship arrived in virginia beach, virginia, and a sailor from california disembarked. tony lopez of kovr tv has our story. >> reporter: it's a big-time kiss from a small town girl. that small town placerville. that big kiss making history as the first openly gay first kiss from a member of the military to their significant other upon return. petty officer second class marisa gatea planted that peck on her girlfriend of two years. and snell also a member of the u.s. navy after gala's return from 80 days at sea. both beamed with pride after the sailor-to-sailor smooch. >> i feel lice about it. nice to be myself. it's a long time coming. been there for two and a half years and very recent to changes coming into effect and it's been

nothing but positive so it's been pretty awesome to say the least. >> reporter: outside of placerville, her mom was happy to talk. kim gatea says she couldn't be more proud. >> i was overwhelmed with proudness of my daughter. wow. i just couldn't believe it. >> reporter: the kiss got reaction from some of marisa's hometown. >> i think it's cool. it's her lover. >> i think you should do whatever you want to do and i hope all of the love and goodness for her, whether or not she is gay or not. >> reporter: others who didn't like it didn't talk on cameras. >> i know there's haters out there. there will always be haters out there. i'm very proud of my daughter has done, stood up for her own rights. >> reporter: marisa hopes this opens doors. while this military twist with a kiss comes with differing reactions, most in this fine town of placerville had the same underlying reaction, thanking her for her service, regardless

of sexual reorientation this morning, on "the early show," the political standoff over the payroll tax cut. i'm drew levinson. and this is the "cbs morning news." can be a gold mine for identity thieves. ♪ we don't believe your garbage should be used against you. [ alarm blares ] we're lifelock. go to lifelock.com and join the fight against one of the fastest growing crimes in america. lifelock. relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1 (800) lifelock today.

good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is thursday, do you feel it? it is winter and it feels like fall. [ laughter ] good morning, i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck. i feel heavy because i just had another piece of cheesecake. here's monika samtani. it is in the newsroom by the

way. >> i'll go in there right after this. good morning, howard bernstein. how are you? >> i'm so full of sugar right now. >> cupcakes. >> we're all flying high on sugar. let's get you moving this thursday morning. last day of the year for some of us. we're look at a dry day. what was that? >> 50 degrees with mostly cloudy skies at reagan national. see a little sun early. some fog early. clouds will return. highs upper 50s to low 60s. another very mild day. winds will be rather light. rain pulled out. even overnight had showers which pushed through pennsylvania that missed us. what you're not seeing at the lower levels are the visibilities, the fog. down a quarter mile. manassas and culpepper, half- mile fredericksburg. leonardtown, cambridge, a quarter mile. even down to pax river, too. watch out for the patchy dense fog mainly south and southeast. temps have fallen into the 40s

west. at 50 in town with low, mid-50s south and east of us. as we look at the forecast highs, upper 50s to a few spots in the lower 60s. rain returns tonight. could be heavy at times. i'll have more on that and the christmas outlook in the next 15, 20 minutes. right now, monika is in with timesaver traffic. i'll bet there's not too much construction left. >> no. there is not too much construction left. i was watching the construction workers, in december, the weather is pretty good for those who have to do that, especially overnight. overall, things are look great. on the outer loop of the beltway heading south at 66, traffic was being detoured on to the westbound side of 66, everyone was turning around at nutley street and getting back on to the beltway. they're cleaning that up right now. otherwise, on the northside of town, things are looking great. let's take a live look at the beltway at university boulevard. all of the construction cones moved. no problems to report on the beltway here in silver spring.

in springfield, northbound 95 overall, very, very light. no problems to romp at 4:27 a.m. we'll take a live look at 395 at duke street. very light in all lanes heading to the 14th street bridge. coming up, another look around the area at 4:39. back to you guys. republican presidential candidate newt gingrich says a new poll shows him leading among republican voters in virginia. only one hitch, gingrich does not appear to have enough signatures to get on the ballot in the commonwealth. the former house speaker has less than 24 hours to get the signatures. matt jablow was in arlington where they were trying to get together a signature petition drive. >> with only one day left to get on the ballot in virginia, republican presidential candidate newt gingrich was rallying the troops. >> i have one opponent. it is barack obama. >> searching for signatures at the key bridge marriott. >> so, with your help, we'll get on the ballot.

>> gingrich needs 10,000 signatures in virginia and at least 400 in each of virginia's 11 congressional districts to be on virginia's primary election ballot in march. >> once again in virginia, we're going to disappoint the republican establishment because tomorrow in richmond, we're going to turn in vastly more signatures than you need. >> reporter: one vote gingrich does not appear to be courting is the gay vote. one week after enraging the gay community by saying that being homosexual was, in part, a matter of choice. >> i believe it is a combination of genetics and environment. >> the former speaker of the house supposedly called gay marriage a temporary aberration and told a gay iowa man he should support president obama. >> directly quoted. you should support obama. >> tonight in alexandria, gingrich steered clear of the gay issue entirely and did not take questions from reporters. >> i like him. he's genuine. >> people we spoke with who attended the event said they were comfortable with his